Minor League Baseball Attendance Up Slightly Through July 20

The clubs affiliated with Minor League Baseball (MiLB) are averaging 4,042 fans per game this season, up slightly from the same period during the '10 season. The Triple-A Int'l and Pacific Coast Leagues continue to top all levels at the gate, however both leagues are seeing close to a 2% drop. The Int'l League Lehigh Valley IronPigs lead all clubs with 9,060 fans per game, flat compared to '10. The PCL Omaha Storm Chasers, who opened the new Werner Park this season after over 50 years in Rosenblatt Stadium, are averaging 5,711 fans per game, up 7%. With the league folding two struggling clubs from '10, the Triple-A Mexican League is seeing attendance up a MiLB-best 27% to date. The Single-A Florida State League is also seeing an 8% increase at the gate. Six leagues in total are seeing some sort of drop in attendance, with the Single-A Midwest League seeing the biggest decline (-4.1%). The chart below lists attendance for each league affiliated with MiLB through July 20, with comparisons to the same period last season (THE DAILY).

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ATTENDANCE THROUGH JULY 20

LEAGUE

LEVEL

TEAMS

GMS

TOTAL

AVG.

PREV.

% +/-

'10 GMS

International

AAA

14

654

4,302,891

6,579

6,699

-1.8%

677

Pacific Coast

AAA

16

761

4,543,390

5,970

6,074

-1.7%

751

Texas

AA

8

366

1,934,660

5,286

5,498

-3.9%

362

Mexican

AAA

14

661

3,139,122

4,749

3,752

26.6%

738

Eastern

AA

12

549

2,560,960

4,665

4,611

1.2%

568

New York-Penn

Short-
Season A

14

222

803,330

3,619

3,629

-0.3%

223

Midwest

Low-A

16

710

2,446,658

3,446

3,593

-4.1%

722

South Atlantic

Low-A

14

637

2,168,215

3,404

3,371

1.0%

652

Carolina

High-A

8

356

1,210,657

3,401

3,333

2.0%

368

Southern

AA

10

461

1,544,528

3,350

3,438

-2.5%

453

Northwest

Short-
Season A

8

132

387,993

2,939

2,875

2.2%

131

Pioneer

Instructional

8

114

272,278

2,388

2,313

3.3%

119

California

High-A

10

475

1,081,317

2,276

2,276

0.0%

476

Florida State

High-A

12

556

931,282

1,675

1,553

7.9%

554

Appalachian

Instructional

10

142

142,342

1,002

968

3.6%

142

TOTALS

174

6,796

27,469,623

4,042

4,014

0.7%

6,936

NOTE: All short-season and instructional leagues begin each year following the June MLB draft.